Preschool - Mrs. Malone, Ms. Onkka
By the time December arrives we will have discussed personal safety & our Circle of Grace, families & homes, Thanksgiving, transportation, and community helpers.
During November our 5-day students had another opportunity to meet with their 8th grade buddies. In addition, they enjoyed “Pete’s Groovy Science Show,” which was put on by the Children’s Museum.
As we reflect on this Thanksgiving season, we are thankful for our preschool families and all that they do to support learning in the preschool classrooms.
We can’t wait to experience Advent and the excitement of Christmas through the eyes of our 3-5 year olds!
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Kindergarten - Mrs. Guinan, Mrs. Millar, Mrs. Vaughan
In math, we’ve been busy laying the groundwork for fractions. The students have learned a lot about symmetry, equal parts, and halves. They have learned some geometry through identifying cones, cubes, spheres, and cylinders.
When reading and writing, we have focused on nouns as naming words and the difference between asking and telling sentences.
After discussing Thanksgiving traditions, our kindergartners enjoyed their own “feast" with their fourth grade buddies and gave thanks for their many blessings.
We wish you a blessed and safe Thanksgiving!
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First Grade - Mrs. Kleffman, Mrs. Caito, Ms. Wright
We are so excited to share the holy season of Advent with your first grade student. To prepare our hearts for baby Jesus, 1st graders will be working to focus on giving instead of receiving. We will also be working to incorporate acts of kindness into our daily lives as we work to Be More Kind and Giving during this season.
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, we feel so blessed to be a part of your child's daily life. We will be keeping each of our students and their families in our prayers of thanksgiving. Enjoy this special time with your family and friends!
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Second Grade - Ms. Hargens, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Truscott
November is a time to be reminded of how thankful we are. Enjoy your family time and thank God for the many blessings He has given.
2nd graders have been working on double digit addition with regrouping and will soon be doing double-digit subtraction with regrouping. Please keep practicing this very important skill as well as working on single-digit math facts. We want students to excel in their math facts.
We worked on our research skills and did animal reports, too! Students picked an animal and put together their research for a report. They worked very hard!
Students have been learning about government in Social Studies. They know all about what makes up the two parts of Congress, how different governments work together, and why we need rules!
Be sure to check the weather forecast before school each day to determine whether or not your child will need a jacket. Our first recess still tends to be rather chilly! Please make sure items are labeled. This helps with making sure items aren’t as easily lost. Students will not be allowed to stay indoors for lack of appropriate apparel.
| Third Grade - Ms. Ruelas, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Schofield
Students are excited about learning multiplication facts and applying that knowledge to division. They continue to develop accurate recall of multiplication and division facts 0-10 here at school using the online program Xtramath. Please know this program can be accessed from home.
We have been working on a terrific service project! As part of an English-Language Arts writing assignment in our Archdiocesan Standards, the children wrote Christmas letters to senior citizens. These letters will be delivered to the residents of Immanuel Communities Newport House, retired priests in our area, and homebound parishioners of Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Mary’s Churches in South Omaha. Living out the Corporal Works of Mercy through our letters was a beautiful way to spend the month of November.
We hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving break! Our “List of Things We Are Thankful For” starts with you! Thank you for everything you are doing to support the learning happening here at school. We are truly blessed!!
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Fourth - Grade Mrs. Madison, Mrs. Thede, Ms. Geist
After our unit on government and trip to the courthouse, grade four students are now studying the Native Americans that lived on the plains. They will be learning about the houses they created out of resources around them and the foods they ate.
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Thank you to all the parents who helped in planning such fun Halloween parties!
In English, students are working with pronouns and applying what they have learned to all different parts of a sentence. They are becoming grammar professionals and have been able to spot improper grammar in the real world and correct it.
The fourth grade scientists are exploring sound and light waves by using tuning forks, wood, rubber bands, prisms, and mirrors. Have a blessed Thanksgiving! We are thankful for the gift of your children.
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Fifth Grade - Mrs. Dotzler, Mrs. Jones, Ms. Salerno
Fifth grade students have started learning about energy and matter in the ecosystem. Students have been excited to start studying plants and animals. In social studies, students have been learning about the 13 English Colonies and will begin preparing for our states geography test before Christmas break. Students are very excited to continue working on the state fair project focusing on the geography and climate of their state. Thank you, parents, for your help in revising and editing the paragraphs. They also just finished learning about every kind of noun you can imagine. Grammar is awesome!
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Sixth Grade - Mrs. Wane, Mrs. Bernt, Mrs. Guinotte
English - Students are exploring verbs. We are going beyond past and present tense into progressive, perfect, active/passive voice, indicative/emphatic/imperative/subjunctive moods, and modal auxiliaries. There are sixteen lessons in this unit and the biggest one yet we will cover this year.
Literature - Students are continuing to travel with Billy Colman and his two red hounds in the novel Where the Red Fern Grows. This is usually a favorite of students when asked about books they remember reading while at SVdP.
Math - Students are finishing up GCF and LCM and moving into everyone’s FAVORITE topic.. fractions! We will begin with simplest form and equivalent fractions and then transition to the different operations with fractions. Adding and subtracting is up first; then we move to multiplying and dividing! Students will also be completing a short writing prompt that answers the questions, “How important is math in the ‘real world’ and what are some examples of how you would use it in everyday life?” This is to help strengthen their writing skills, which is used in all aspects of school and life!
Religion - We will be discussing Our Circle of Grace and how we keep ourselves safe in every situation life brings.
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Science - Students have finished with Invention Convention. Thank you to everyone who came to see all of the wonderful inventions! After Thanksgiving we will start studying the rocks and minerals of the Earth.
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Social Studies - We just finished up our study of Ancient Mesoptomia with the Persian Wars. Students compared the leaders of the many different empires we studied, which highlighted how harsh these leaders truly were back then. We are about to start Module 4: Ancient Egypt. Within this chapter of Ancient Egypt, students will learn about how the civilization came about, the kingdoms and their emperors, how pyramids were built, and the horrendous process of mummification (warning—it’s gross!). I am excited to start this new and exciting chapter.
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English - Mr Leever
7- Students have completed a unit on types of adverbs, adverb placement, and correct adverb usage. Our next grammar unit will be studying verbs, focusing on auxiliary verbs, and how they determine tense, voice and mood. Students have begun preparing and writing a character development short essay. Students have chosen a character from a novel, short story, or movie who changes from the beginning of the story to the end. The focus of the essay will be writing effective topic sentences, clear main points within each paragraph, and using specific examples from the story to support the main points.
8- Students are currently studying verbs and how verbs help determine tense, voice, and mood. Our next writing assignment will be to write a paragraph with support coming from an outside source. The information will need to be used correctly (paraphrased or directly quoted), cited in the text of the paragraph with a works cited page. Citations will follow the MLA guidelines/standards. Students will choose between two possible topics: 1) Choose a vacation destination for your research and tell what activities you would participate in and 2) Choose a holiday tradition to research and write about.
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Science - Ms. Kolberg
7th grade
7th graders are tackling photosynthesis and cellular respiration. We are starting to look more in depth with the organelles and what they are responsible for in the cell. Our last venture into the lab this past week demonstrated that we exhale carbon dioxide by using an indicator called bromothymol blue.
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8th grade
8th graders are working on density and chemistry. Density is one of the things used to identify elements on the periodic table. One of the challenges was to make containers “flink” — which is a made up word for kind of float and kind of sink!!
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We concluded our unit on light by completing the sheep eye dissection, and I am including some pictures of this fun event!
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Math - Mr. Polacek
As we finish up a fantastic first semester in 7th and 8th grade math, pre-algebra will be working on a geometry chapter. This will include shapes and a good deal of vocabulary that they will need to remember. The students at this level have done an excellent job early this year of exploring some algebra-heavy topics and should be more than prepared for more algebra chapters in 2025.
The 7th grade math group is finishing up solving problems by using proportions. They will continue to review some arithmetic skills while being exposed to new pre-algebra topics in the next semester.
In algebra, we are finishing a chapter on systems of equations. We solved them by graphing, substitution, elimination and linear combinations. Next up, polynomials and quadratics! This is always a very challenging course, and with new concepts being shown daily, the amount of knowledge gained has been tremendous. I am so appreciative of the effort and focus all my students bring to my room each and every day!
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Literature - Mrs. Fosbender
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year! The seventh grade students are starting Summer of My German Soldier. Throughout the novel the students will plan, create, and present a review game over the reading assignment to their classmates. The eighth grade students are starting Freak the Mighty. Throughout the novel, the students will answer questions in their journal writing that went along with the reading assignments, create a Family Shield, and complete other small projects. The projects ranged from reflective writing to researching to creating a scene from the novel. There are always some interesting creations!
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Religion - Mrs. Nigrin
Happy Advent! During the month of December, we will be focusing on the season of Advent and preparing for the celebration of Christmas. We will be spending time learning about the symbols of the Jesse Tree and how The Old Testament is made new through Jesus. We will also be looking at how God shares his life with us through the celebration of the Mass. Please share with your child the traditions your family shares both during the Advent/Christmas season and also the Catholic Traditions you practice. May the love and peace of the infant Jesus fill your heart and home during this time!
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Social Studies - Mrs. Sullivan
The 8th graders finished up their studies of the Jefferson and Jackson Eras as well as Manifest Destiny in November. December will find us learning about the Civil War. After Christmas break, we will start work on our History Hall of Fame projects and learn about Reconstruction. The students will be doing a variety of individual and small group activities to enhance their studies of these historical events.
The 7th graders completed studies on Ancient Latin American Civilizations and Mexico in November. In December, we will explore Central America and the Caribbean as well as many of the countries of South America. Our studies will include individual and small group projects from making maps to creating slide shows of the countries we study.
Blessing and peace to everyone this holiday season.
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Art - Mr. Pflaum
Art updates:
Here is a summary of each grade level's art projects:
The Kindergarten students will soon be working on an acrylic winter painting.
The first graders are celebrating fall and Thanksgiving by creating a watercolor cornucopia painting.
In second grade, the students are learning about shading techniques and form in their drawings.
The third and fourth graders have finally completed their clay projects which will go through a final firing.
In fifth grade, the students are using some imaginative drawing skills to illustrate Santa’s castle / North Pole village.
The sixth-graders were introduced to Pablo Picasso and are making a watercolor cubist painting while the seventh-graders are creating wonderful prints in their printmaking class.
Finally, in eighth grade, they are painting their fired clay masks.
Various student work can be seen on the SVdP instagram art gallery: https://www.instagram.com/svdpmrpflaumart/
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Computer - Mrs. Kuhr
Kindergarten - Students practiced typing a sentence on the computer. Next, we will be going to Teach Your Monster to Read. This is a great reading site. Login is first name and first letter of last name.
1st Grade - Students are going to start to learn about Keynote by coloring in shapes, solving a puzzle, and writing about Thanksgiving. Keynote is Apple’s version of PowerPoint.
2nd Grade - This month students are practicing logging on to their Google accounts. They have also been working and learning about Google Slides. Right now they are finishing up a unit on password safety.
3rd Grade - Students “designed” a video game. They basically reviewed copy and paste to create a video game picture. Then they had to write about and create a tagline.
4th Grade - We are finishing up our robotics unit. Students learned how to program our Spheros. They created poems through programming and taught their robots to dance.
5th Grade - Students are learning and coding with micro:bits. They are these little pocket computers. You program them, and they have LED lights, buttons and other ways to interact with it.
6th Grade - Students are finishing up a project where we talk about password safety, and using “concatenate” in Google Sheets. They ran a dictionary attack and are seeing how good the passwords that they created really are. The project is due next week. Then we will be talking about what should be posted online and what shouldn’t.
8th Grade - Students finished up their podcasts. There were some outstanding podcasts. Now we are coding a quest style game using Scratch. They focus on using boardcasts to change scenes and add a story to their quests.
If you have any photos for the yearbook, please email them to me at kuhra@svdpomaha.org.
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Educational Strategists - Mrs. Heavey, Mrs. Price, Ms. Bousquet
1. Cozy Up with a Good Book:
This winter break, encourage your child to create a cozy reading nook where they can read a good book.
2. Family Reading Time:
Make reading a family affair! Gather around the fireplace or the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree and share stories with your loved ones.
3. Holiday Book Exchange:
Organize a book exchange with friends or neighbors. Each child can pick out a book they enjoyed and exchange it with a friend.
4. Set Reading Goals:
Challenge your child to set reading goals for the break. Whether it's a certain number of books, pages, or a new genre they've never explored before, having a goal can make reading more exciting.
5. Explore Seasonal Stories:
Explore seasonal stories that capture the spirit of Christmas and winter.
6. Visit the Library:
Take a family trip to the library and let your child explore the shelves. Many libraries also host special holiday reading events or story hours.
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Guidance - Mrs. Skudlarek
The students have been doing great things in guidance this past month! In Kindergarten we have been working on being Peacemakers instead of Peacebreakers. To go along with that, we spent some time discussing the difference between tattling to get someone in trouble and telling to get someone out of trouble. The students enjoyed role-playing different times when it might be a good idea to tell vs. tattle. First grade students are also working on knowing the difference between tattling and telling. Kindergarten and first grade students have been focusing on the following: being Danger Rangers: warning others if a person or animal is in danger; being Problem Solvers by taking charge and trying hard to solve a problem themselves; asking themselves Now or Later? Is the problem something that needs to be talked about now, or can it wait until later. This is something that is difficult and takes practice. Please help your child practice these skills at home. Additionally, kindergarten, first, second, and fifth grade we have been talking about our Circle of Grace. Be sure to ask your child what new vocabulary they have learned and how they can continue to keep God sacred within their Circle of Grace. Third and fourth grade students have been focusing on the positive and important qualities of one another. We read a book titled, The Important Book. This book features different items and discusses their importance. Students were then asked to apply this to a classmate and write about that classmate. Our sixth graders wrapped up talking about bullying and harassment. The seventh and eighth grade students have been focusing on showing love through words and actions. I feel very thankful each day for the work I get to do with your children. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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HAL - Mrs. Miller
This month the 4th and 5th graders have been working on concepts like greatest common factor and least common multiple to prepare them for their unit on fractions. The 5th grade group also learned how to compute with integers. The 6th grade pre-algebra class started a unit on solving equations. The students learned that it is vitally important to show all your work and check your answers when solving equations. The 7th grade group learned various methods of solving a system of linear equations and inequalities. The junior high literature groups recently began new novels—7th graders started the mystery, The Westing Game, and the 8th graders finished up their mystery, The Lie Tree. The 7th graders will begin writing their own 2-minute mystery as a culminating project, and the 8th graders created a one-pager as their final project. The 8th graders will spend the next month reading a classic novella by John Steinbeck.
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Media Center - Mrs. Kaiser
Thank you to everyone who helped out the Book Fair! We raised funds for both of our libraries and also donated $820.00 in books to St. Augustine School in Winnebago, Nebraska. We appreciate your generosity.
We are moving into new concepts in Media class. Kindergarten and first grade are reviewing the differences between fiction and nonfiction. Second grade is exploring books that won the Caldecott medal for best illustrated picture book. Third grade is learning about various genres and how to define the genre of a story. The fourth grade classes are rotating through research skill review, 3D printing, and building a robotic art machine. Grade five is continuing to work on choosing and citing sources. Seventh graders have begun discussing Media Literary, including how social media feeds work, how to make sure the information you share is accurate and true, and how confirmation bias affects all of us.
Thank you to the following students and their families who donated a book to the library in honor of their birthday: Chloe Nguyen, Molly Barth, Braden Salerno, Maddie Webert, and Elias Heimann.
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Music - Mrs. LeMense
🎵Thank you to all of our 5th and 6th graders for the wonderful job they did on their Nov. 21st concert!
Here’s what’s next for 5th grade: we’re resurrecting the recorders so we can learn to play Christmas songs! Please locate your recorder and start bringing it to school!
If you are a new student in 5th grade, I have your recorder here waiting for you.
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The 4th graders are advancing in their recorder playing and note reading. I’m inviting 4th grade siblings of 1st and 2nd graders to play their recorder for the December 12th Christmas program.
They will play a piper’s jig tune for the "Eleven Pipers Piping!"
Our 3rd and 4th graders will soon begin work on their own program that is scheduled for Feb. 27th. We’ll get in a few Christmas lessons, but then we’ll start working on the show.
The 1st and 2nd graders have the Christmas program coming on Thursday, December 12th at 6:30 P.M.
We’re presenting “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Yes, there will be a partridge, two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, etc…. ten lords a leaping and more!
Please watch your emails to find out more information.
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Kindergartners will be learning a folk dance to “Deck The Halls” among other Christmas favorites!
| Music - Ms. Campbell
6th graders just completed their concert! I am so proud of all classes for being great musicians and having so much fun! The rest of the semester will be reviewing the genres and parts of music and starting to learn about sound.
7th graders are researching composers from different musical eras. After they pick a composer that they’re interested in learning more about, they are creating a skit about their life. This skit will also include a moral story that they can relate to everyone.
8th graders are exploring three music genres: Rock, Jazz, and Hip Hop. They have been playing games based off of improvisation, since all three of these styles include aspects of musical improvisation. They will pick one of these styles and create their music group that specializes in one.
Students in grades 6-8 will be invited to audition for the play, Small Actors. It is a story about a girl who wants the lead in her school play but instead gets a four-line role. When she tells her parents she gets the lead, pandemonium ensues. The story touches on the roles we play on stage and in life! Auditions will be December 11 from 3:30-6:30. Students will be able to sign up for an audition spot a week before auditions. Rehearsals will be Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:15-4:30.
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K-6 PE - Mr. Boone
Spent the first half of the month working on yoga. The emphasis during this unit was to focus on their flexibility, strength, balance, stress reduction, and building on their social emotional learning. During this unit we used the new scoreboards to project the videos that they were following. It really enhanced the the lessons and made it more enjoyable for the students to reach their learning objectives.
The last part of the month, the students worked on their volleying and striking skills. Students in grades K-2nd started by using balloons to work on their hand-eye coordination, and striking skills. Activities such as Keep It Up, Musical Balloon Bop, Air Ball, Paddle Up, and Net Ball were incorporated with the balloons. Foam paddles were added as a short-handled implement to strike the balloons.
The students in 3-6th worked on striking with their hands in the activities of Ga Ga Ball, Swat Ball, Nitro Ball, Four Square Volleyball, King of the Court, and Speed Volleyball. Each activity allowed the students to build on their skills, eventually getting them to games similar to volleyball.
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7-8 PE - Mrs. Conry
We played a game called King Pin. My hope was to encourage teamwork and problem solving. Organized sports or even a neighborhood game of tag will help them learn how to work with others.
I am hoping to continue working on teamwork. On a team kids should exhibit trust, enthusiasm, ambition, as well as motivation. Trust enables each team member to depend on one another. In many games, all the players of a team need to be trusting with each other.
We have started volleyball skills; it’s been fun to watch how so many really enjoy it. I am very impressed with how well the classes are doing. I am proud of the encouragement and kindness they are displaying with each other.
Recently an email was sent out to the 7th & 8th grade parents about volunteering their time with our SNAG unit. I encourage anyone with interest to please reach out.
Happy Thanksgiving to your and your family. We all have so much to be grateful for.
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2nd-4th - Spanish Mrs. McDermott
Students in 4th grade Spanish are continuing to use their knowledge of the days of the week to discuss “hoy” (today), ayer (yesterday) and mañana (tomorrow) and the months using “antes” (before) and “después” (after). They are also learning how to write the date in Spanish, including their birthday.
Students in 3rd grade Spanish are learning the names of clothing and accessories. They are also reviewing the colors by describing clothing with a color.
Students in 2nd grade Spanish are learning the names of 11 colors — rojo (red), azul (blue), blanco (white), anaranjado (orange). rosado (pink), café/pardo/marrón (brown), amarillo (yellow), verde (green), negro (black), violeta/morado (purple), gris (grey). (Cold or Hot) to practice the names of colors by looking for them in the classroom.
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5th-8th - Spanish Mrs. Singh
¡Hola!
¡Felices Fiestas! Happy Holiday Season!
I am so thankful to work with students excited about learning Spanish. I am hearing more “Spanglish” (a mixture of correct English and Spanish), and that always makes me happy.
Students in all grade levels will spend time this week and next to write about what they give thanks for. The week of Thanksgiving I encourage students to bring in a treat they are thankful for to share with the class.
8th grade students have created digital slideshows about their favorite and least favorite sports. We are practicing the verb “Gustar” to express likes and dislikes. We are also learning how to use the verb Gustar plus an infinitive of verbs to express sports we like to play. Next we will learn subject pronouns and start conjugating verbs.
7th grade students are learning body parts in Spanish and how to talk about a body part that “hurts.” They will present a short skit in class to demonstrate their skills.
We have a list of over 30 body parts. We have agreed on 15 that all students should know, then each student will select at least 5 more of their choosing that they will memorize.
6th grade students are just completing their unit on Calendar information. We have included reviewing numbers and learning special holidays in Spanish. Students will create their own calendar page for their favorite month and include significant holidays.
5th graders are learning about greetings and goodbyes in Spanish. We are also practicing colors and calendar information. Please ask your student if they can log in to their Quizlet account to review vocabulary.
Expect to hear your students singing “Villancillos” in the coming weeks! All grade levels will learn some Christmas carols in Spanish!
A friendly reminder that it is so helpful to me when you include your students homeroom number if you email regarding grades, etc.
¡Gracias!
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